Breitkopf and Haertel at once brought out Brahms's first works, which
were by no means received by the public with general favor; in fact
they provoked as bitter discussion as those of Wagner, and made
headway slowly. For four years--from 1854 to 1858--Brahms was in the
service of the Prince of Lippe-Detmold, a small principality near
Hanover, where the court was a quiet one, thus affording ample time
for composition and private study. Brahms's strength of purpose and
unusual power of self-criticism are shown by the way in which this
period was spent. Although he had made a brilliant debut, Brahms now
imposed upon himself a course of rigorous technical training, appeared
seldom before the public and published no compositions; his object
being to free himself from a narrow subjectivity and to give scope to
his wide human sympathies and to his passion for perfection of
utterance. It seemed to him that a plausible originality might
degenerate into mere idiosyncrasy, and that universality of appeal
should be a musician's highest goal. When he resigned his post and
came before the public with his first large work, a concerto for
pianoforte and orchestra, the gain made in increased power and
resources was evident. The greatest tribute which can be paid Brahms
is that he has summed up and united the classic principles of
clearness and solidity of workmanship with the warmth and spontaneity
of the Romantic School. In 1862 Brahms settled in Vienna where, for
thirty-five years, his career was entirely free from external
incidents of note; his time spent in quiet steady work and in the
attainment of artistic ideals. His slow logical development is like
that of Beethoven, due to the fact that his works were far from
numerous, but finished with the greatest care. The standard of
creative quality is also very high; comparatively few of Brahms's
works are not altogether alive. Matthew Arnold's beautiful lines on
labor are applicable to Brahms. "Work which in lasting fruit outgrows
far noisier schemes; accomplished in repose; too great for haste; too
high for rivalry." Brahms thus described to Mr. Henschel, a former
conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, his ideals concerning
composing: "There is no real creating without hard work; that which
you call invention is simply an inspiration from above, for which I am
not responsible, which is no merit of mine." And again, "Whether a
composition is beautiful is one consideration, but pe